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Port O’Pints Brewing Co. may not have won best of show at the El Dorado County Commercial Beer Competition last month.

But after sending in everything he had on tap — 21 entries total — owner Rick White and his head brewer, Devin Beach, walked away with 17 medals; eight more than best of show winner Alaro Craft Brewery in Sacramento.

“I’d like to do a collaboration with them since we’re always neck and neck,” White told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Thursday.

White, who opened Port O’Pints at the corner of Northcrest Drive and Harding Avenue in Crescent City about six years ago, regularly enters his brews in the Great American Beer Festival as well as in international competitions in New York City and San Diego.

On Thursday, he was figuring out what to send to the World Beer Cup, the “Olympics of beer,” which will be judged in April. At $180 a pop, White said he was only submitting three entries. He needed to decide which ones would score the highest.

The El Dorado County Commercial Beer Competition was a bit different. Many competitions had reduced their entry fees to drum up participation after the COVID-19 pandemic, White said, and since El Dorado was one of them, he threw everything he had at those judges.

The entry that scored the highest in El Dorado County was Port O’Pints’ wassail, Mr. Krampas Holiday Ale. Judges also awarded gold for Port O’Pints’ Smith River Pale Ale and Warrior Pale Ale. White’s Irish stout, Stout of Jefferson, and his roggenbier, Ryed n’ the Willie, took home double gold medals.

Del Norter Porter and Crescent City Common also drew accolades, but even if they didn’t, White said he uses the judge’s notes to refine his craft.

“That’s probably the greatest benefit in competing — what you learn from the judges,” he said. “Your customers will always tell you you have good beer — they don’t want to hurt your feelings — but the judges pretty much go the other direction.”

Sometimes judges will ask a brewmaster to dry out their beer, White said. Other times they’ll advise specific temperature ranges during fermentation or say there’s not enough or too much chocolate for them in a chocolate beer.

Sometimes competitions will pair judges together, White said.

“We’ve never competed with our Warrior Pale Ale or our Smith River Pilsner, and both of them got gold,” he said. “The judges were actually very favorable of those.”

White, who was head production brewer at Great Basin Brewing Company in Reno, said he uses city water, which comes from the Smith River, for the flavor profile for most of his brews. He said he removes what little chlorine is added to it, and, for his lighter beer, uses it as-is. For his pale ales because “they like more mineral content,” he may add chalk or calcium carbonate, but he doesn’t like to change things.

“I just like to go with what we’re given and try to keep things real natural for these recipes,” he said. “I don’t like to add any preservatives and things that are sometimes added.”

Even though Port O’Pints has received 64 craft beer awards in the six years it’s been open, making it the “highest-winning craft beer in Del Norte County history”, White says Port O’Pints wouldn’t be as successful without its customers.

White is also eager to try out new flavors on his customers. One new flavor, for a now sold-out Valentines Day event, is meant to pair with dessert and contains Hersheys chocolate and chocolate from Dick Taylor Chocolate in Eureka.

That brew will also use lactose from Rumiano Cheese Factory.

“That will be available to the general public on the 16th,” White told the Outpost. “And we have one other beer that’s special, just for that event and it’s made with our local blackberries, it’s a blackberry wheat, and that will be available the same day.”

Meanwhile, though it came out around Thanksgiving, White says there are still a few bottles of Mr. Krampas Ale left for those who want it.

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